Newly-appointed Gender Minister Elizabeth Phiri has vowed not to let President Edgar Lungu down in her new given role, saying the Head of State had confidence in her capabilities

President Lungu swore-in Phiri on Wednesday morning at State House, with a challenge to seriously address the rampant early marriages that have rocked the country along with a surge in gender-based violence (GBV)-related cases prevailing in Zambia.

She told News Diggers! in an interview that she would carry on her predecessor’s plans for the Ministry and be on top of things.

“Let us not forget that this Ministry had a Minister who passed on, Hon. Victoria Kalima, may her soul rest in peace. So, as a Minister who has taken over from somebody, I have to see where she was with the programme and then take it up from there. But I will be on top of things; the President knows the capabilities I have hence he appointed me because he knows that I will be on top of things. I will not let the President down,” said Phiri.

Phiri, who is also Kanyama PF member of parliament, takes over from late Victoria Kalima who represented the party as MP for Kasenengwa constituency in Eastern Province before she died in office on June 12, 2018, after an illness.